UK: ROBOSHARK, A ROBOTIC SHARK DESIGNED TO HELP RESEARCH INTO SHARK BEHVIOUR ON DISPLAY AT NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM IN PLYMOUTH

Record ID: 544741

  • Title: UK: ROBOSHARK, A ROBOTIC SHARK DESIGNED TO HELP RESEARCH INTO SHARK BEHVIOUR ON DISPLAY AT NATIONAL MARINE AQUARIUM IN PLYMOUTH
  • Date: 23rd July 2003
  • Summary: PLYMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 23, 2003) (REUTERS) SHARKS SWIMMING IN THE AQUARIUM WITH PAN TO ROBOSHARK (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHILD AT AQUARIUM POINTING AND SAYING: "There it is! That's it!" ROBOSHARK SWIMMING TO EDGE OF AQUARIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) AQUARIUM SHARK SPECIALIST, KELVIN BOOT, SAYING: "One of the really common myths about sharks is that they are cold killing machines cruising the ocean, waiting to bite a leg off. Well, we know that is not true but what we don't know is how sophisticated they are. We don't know how intelligent they are. And what roboshark is going to help us understand is how their body language works, how they interact with each other, how they communicate and they cooperate as well, because we've added a new member of the gang." ROBOSHARK SWIMMING WITH FISH SEEN FROM BOTTOM OF AQUARIUM ROBOSHARK SWIMMING AT THE SURFACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBOSHARK INVENTOR, ANDREW SNEATH, SAYING "It's totally unique in that they have built robosharks, obviously. You've got sharks and you've got the deep blue sea sharks. But they usually have a power generator with a big cable connected. So this is the first time a fully autonomous shark is actually living in a natural environment." PAN OF BODY OF ROBOSHARK WITH INSIDE REVEALED CLOSE UP OF ROBOSHARK "BRAIN" CLOSE UP OF HEAD OF ROBOSHARK CLOSE UP OF PROPELLER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SNEATH SAYING: "The robot fish just fascinated me. Because, how could you simulate a swimming pattern without using the tail? Also, having the advantage of having the thrust is in the solution that we found is, what we found is that Roboshark can actually reverse. So, when he gets stuck in a corner, he can actually get out. Whereas a real shark can't reverse." SNEATH LOWERING ROBOSHARK INTO THE AQUARIUM WATER ROBOSHARK SWIMMING AWAY SNEATH OPERATING ROBOSHARK WITH REMOTE CONTROL TIGHT SHOT OF SNEATH'S REMOTE CONTROL ROBOSHARK'S FINS AND BODY EMERGING INTO VIEW AS IT SWIMS TIGHT SHOT OF SNEATH'S FACE FINS OF ROBOSHARK UPWARDS ANGLE SHOWING ROBOSHARK SWIMMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WOMAN AND CHILD LOOKING UP AND CHILD POINTING AND SAYING: "There's a real one. There's two real ones." REAL SHARKS SWIMMING LITTLE GIRL LOOKING AT THE FISH IN THE AQUARIUM REAL SHARK SWIMMING (SOUNDBITE) (English), SNEATH, SAYING: "You can pre-programme it to swim a fixed route but that's rather boring in that it's just going to swim the same route, just like a robot. We are trying to model the shark's behaviour. So, what I've done is given it quite a bit of random effect in that he is actually choosing the depth he wants to go at and to the direction. Also, because it's in a natural environment, it's not in a lab, the sonar system is effected by the schools of fish and the sharks themselves. So that, he will actually avoid crashing into items when he is travelling around so that really makes it quite random as to where he is going." ROBOSHARK SWIMMING AND THEN JOINED BY REAL SHARK TIGHT SHOT OF ROBOSHARK AND REAL SHARK (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHARK SPECIALIST, BOOT, SAYING: "They've shown this curiosity. They are looking at him, they know he's there. And, they're maybe slightly distrustful of him.But they haven't attacked him but they haven't gotten overly friendly either." ROBOSHARK AND REAL SHARK SWIMMING CHILD AND MOTHER LOOKING UP ROBOSHARK SWIMMING, CROSSES PATHS WITH REAL SHARK, BLOWS FROM HIS MOUTH
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Environment,Quirky,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA1PK9XY1EVOUK9DMYFBIZF0X11
  • Story Text: It looks like a real shark, it moves like a real shark and it gets closer to its living counterparts than any scientist could hope to get. Roboshark, a robotic shark - has been designed to facilitate research into shark behaviour.
    There's new member in the shark family at Plymouth's National Marine Aquarium. The world's only robotic swimming shark has joined a group of four Sand Tiger Sharks. The two-metre long creature called Roboshark2 will spend up to three years alongside them. Modelled on the Pacific G rey reef shark, the robot swims using a combination of sensors and thrusters.
    Aquarium staff will monitor the sharks' reaction to their robotic companion to learn more about their behaviour and intelligence.
    "One of the really common myths about sharks is that they are cold killing machines cruising the ocean, waiting to bite a leg off. Well, we know that is not true but what we don't know is how sophisticated they are. We don't know how intelligent they are. And, what roboshark is going to help us understand is how their body language works, how they interact with each other, how they communicate and they cooperate as well, because we've added a new member of the gang", said Kelvin Boot, shark specialist and head of education at the National Marine Aquarium.
    Invented by Andrew Sneath, a British underwater designer, the 35kg robot has an electronic "brain" which dictates its swimming patterns, speed, depth and direction.
    It can swim in all directions at a speed of three miles per hour, similar to the cruising speed of real sharks.
    "It's totally unique in that they have built robosharks, obviously. You've got sharks and you've got the deep blue sea sharks. But they usually have a power generator with a big cable connected. So this is the first time a fully autonomous shark is actually living in a natural environment", said Sneath.
    The robot can withstand huge water pressure up to a depth of 30 metres. If necessary Sneath can override its controls from the surface. Roboshark2 can swim for four hours before its batteries need recharging.
    Sneath said "The robot fish just fascinated me.
    Because, how could you simulate a swimming pattern without using the tail? Also, having the advantage of having the thrust is in the solution that we found is, what we found is that Roboshark can actually reverse. So, when he gets stuck in a corner, he can actually get out. Whereas, a real shark can't reverse."
    "You can pre-programme it to swim a fixed route but that's rather boring in that it's just going to swim the same route, just like a robot. We are trying to model the shark's behaviour. So, what I've done is given it quite a bit of random effect in that he is actually choosing the depth he wants to go at and to the direction. Also, because it's in a natural environment, it's not in a lab, the sonar system is effected by the schools of fish and the sharks themselves. So that, he will actually avoid crashing into items when he is travelling around so that really makes it quite random as to where he is going."
    As for the four Sand Tiger Sharks, they seem to have curiously accepted their new companion, checking him out and even swimming up to the edge of the aquarium when Roboshark is being lifted out to recharge his batteries.
    "They've shown this curiosity. They are looking at him, they know he's there. And, they're maybe slightly distrustful of him. But they haven't attacked him but they haven't gotten overly friendly either," said Boot.
    The first Roboshark, built for the BBC series Smart Sharks, contained a hidden camera which filmed live sharks in their natural habitats.
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